Blog Details

From newspapers to television channels, the debate regarding hijab in Karnataka has been one of the major highlights. 

As per the general opinion, a hijab can be considered as a veil which is used to cover a woman in order to protect her dignity. Veil is basically a piece of thin material used for covering the head and face of a woman. Its use is not just restricted to Islam but has also been prevalent in other religions as well like Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, etc. 

Even when we talk about Islam in particular, different kinds of veils are used like hijab, Niqab and burqa. Hijab covers the head and chest of a woman while niqab covers the whole face leaving the eye area uncovered. On the other hand, burqa is completely different from these two as it covers the entire body and only leaves the eye area uncovered which may also be accompanied by an eye veil. 

As per the four major schools of thought of Sunni ideology which are Hanafi, Shafii, Maliki and Hanbali, it has been upheld with a consensus that it is mandatory for a woman to cover her hair. The Saudi Arabia’s Sunni Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Issuing Fatwas also conveyed it many times that it is necessary for women to cover their heads. Even Shia groups have been in consensus with this. Iranian born Shia Marha Ali Al Sistani also mentioned that women should cover their full body along with hair from men who do not belong to their close family.

Thus, covering head including hair can be considered as an essential religious practice of Islam which makes hijab mandatory for the Muslim. Article 15 restricts any discrimination based on religion, race, caste, sex or place and thus this article can be considered a strong argument in favour of the Muslim women. 

But on the other hand, there have been critics of this theory as well, according to whom covering head is not an essential practice but was only specific to the wives of Prophet Mohammad in order to protect the family from sight of the nearby community, to provide comfort and privacy and to create ethical barrier. According to them, after a particular period of time, some elite women started using hijab and some women did so in order to protect their modesty and dignity. 

In between, the women almost left wearing hijab but then due to certain kinds of pressures, they had to resume this practice. For example – The Military rule in Pakistan brought about a change and wearing hijab became more prominent.

To conclude, there has always been a choice with wearing of Hijab when we talk about India and it is not considered an essential practice since it is not mandatory for all women but for those who want to continue with the practice, this issue has resulted in a controversy. For the time being, the Karnataka High Court has allowed the students to wear hijab, till the final judgement is released.